Greatest Courtroom Dramas
Created by eiriknielsen.
Favorited 3 times, disliked 1 time, added to 8 watchlists.
One of the best subject areas for dramatic films (or sometimes crime films) are suspenseful, law-related courtroom dramas, which include trials that pit lawyers against each other, and set up a tense one-on-one conflict between a prosecutor and a defendant. Sometimes, the protagonists are a "little" guy (an individual) against a "big" guy (or corporation), or the more abstract "good" vs. "evil," or they often involve wider issues, such as race, sex, capital punishment (life and death), and morality. It has to be said that not all legal (courtroom) dramas include a court of law sequence (although they are fairly mandatory), while still full of legal jargon and proceedings.
And of course, courtroom dramas usually contain some of the most fascinating thematic elements in film -- murder, betrayal, deception, perjury and sex, often presented with powerful monologues or speeches, thrilling scenes of the pursuit of evidence or suspects, or climactic cross-examinations. They also may feature unexpected twists and surprise testimony, unusual motives, moral dilemmas, crusading lawyers and wrongly-accused victims.
AFI defined the courtroom drama as:
"A genre of film in which a system of justice plays a critical role in the film's narrative."
Many courtroom film dramas are based on historical events, such as the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial (in Inherit the Wind (1960)), the war crimes tribunal (in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)), and Sir Thomas More's defense against treason (in A Man For All Seasons (1966)). However, for reasons of length, many non-fiction courtroom dramas are often shortened or compressed, and details are sometimes glossed over or changed.
The 'golden age' of feature film courtroom dramas lasted through the 1990s, but then a shift occurred with the rise and prominence of legal-courtroom-related TV shows, including Law & Order (1990-2010) and its spin-offs, Ally McBeal (1997-2002), The Practice (1997-2004), and other police procedurals (the NCIS franchise (2003- ) and JAG (1995-2005)). Most people fondly and nostalgically remember the earliest popular legal dramas on TV, such as Perry Mason (1957-1966) and Dragnet (1951-1959) and their many derivatives.
Pssst, want to check out the Greatest Courtroom Dramas list in our new look?
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1 new
La passion de Jeanne d'Arc
1928 — a.k.a. The Passion of Joan of Arc, in 27 top lists Check -
2 new
M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder
1931 — a.k.a. M, in 35 top lists Check -
3 new
Fury
1936, in 12 top lists Check -
4 new
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town
1936, in 11 top lists Check -
5 new
The Life of Emile Zola
1937, in 7 top lists Check -
6 new
They Won't Forget
1937, in 2 top lists Check -
7 new
On Trial
1939, in 0 top lists -
8 new
Young Mr. Lincoln
1939, in 8 top lists Check -
9 new
The Letter
1940, in 5 top lists Check -
10 new
All That Money Can Buy
1941 — a.k.a. The Devil and Daniel Webster, in 4 top lists Check -
11 new
The Ox-Bow Incident
1943, in 14 top lists Check -
12 new
A Matter of Life and Death
1946, in 22 top lists Check -
13 new
Boomerang!
1947, in 3 top lists Check -
14 new
Miracle on 34th Street
1947, in 7 top lists Check -
15 new
The Paradine Case
1947, in 1 top list Check -
16 new
They Won't Believe Me
1947, in 1 top list Check -
17 new
An Act of Murder
1948 — a.k.a. Live Today for Tomorrow, in 0 top lists Check -
18 new
The Accused
1949, in 1 top list Check -
19 new
Adam's Rib
1949, in 8 top lists Check -
20 new
Knock on Any Door
1949, in 1 top list Check -
21 new
The File on Thelma Jordon
1949, in 2 top lists Check -
22 new
Rashômon
1950 — a.k.a. Rashomon, in 34 top lists Check -
23 new
A Place in the Sun
1951, in 13 top lists Check -
24 new
I Confess
1953, in 2 top lists Check -
25 new
The Caine Mutiny
1954, in 3 top lists Check -
26 new
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
1955 — a.k.a. One Man Mutiny, in 0 top lists Check -
27 new
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
1956, in 3 top lists Check -
28 new
The Wrong Man
1956, in 8 top lists Check -
29 new
12 Angry Men
1957, in 30 top lists Check -
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Paths of Glory
1957, in 26 top lists Check -
31 new
Witness for the Prosecution
1957, in 12 top lists Check -
32 new
I Want to Live!
1958, in 2 top lists Check -
33 new
Anatomy of a Murder
1959, in 12 top lists Check -
34 new
Compulsion
1959, in 0 top lists Check -
35 new
Libel
1959, in 0 top lists Check -
36 new
The Young Philadelphians
1959, in 0 top lists Check -
37 new
Inherit the Wind
1960, in 4 top lists Check -
38 new
Judgment at Nuremberg
1961, in 7 top lists Check -
39 new
Town Without Pity
1961, in 0 top lists Check -
40 new
Billy Budd
1962, in 1 top list Check -
41 new
To Kill a Mockingbird
1962, in 18 top lists Check -
42 new
A Man for All Seasons
1966, in 14 top lists Check -
43 new
In Cold Blood
1967, in 8 top lists Check -
44 new
10 Rillington Place
1971, in 1 top list Check -
45 new
...and justice for all.
1979 — a.k.a. And Justice for All, in 0 top lists Check -
46 new
Kramer vs. Kramer
1979, in 8 top lists Check -
47 new
The Onion Field
1979, in 1 top list Check -
48 new
'Breaker' Morant
1980 — a.k.a. Breaker Morant, in 5 top lists Check -
49 new
Whose Life Is It Anyway?
1981, in 0 top lists Check -
50 new
The Verdict
1982, in 7 top lists Check
Last updated on Jun 2, 2021; source